A former Ministry of National Defense official indicted for submitting a false response to the National Assembly regarding pressure on the investigation into the death of Corporal Chae Su-geun has received a suspended prison sentence.

A suspended sentence acknowledges guilt for minor offenses but defers the sentencing, effectively exempting the defendant from punishment after a certain period.

The 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Woo In-sung) issued a six-month prison sentence, suspended, for Yoo Gyun-hye, the former Director-General for Planning and Management at the Ministry of National Defense, who was indicted on charges of fabricating and uttering official electronic records.

Lee, a former head of the organization general management division at the ministry who was indicted along with her, received a four-month prison sentence, also suspended.

The court found them guilty of submitting false responses in August 2023 to a written inquiry from a lawmaker's office, stating to the effect that "plans to reorganize the military investigation organization had not been reviewed and do not exist."

The court pointed out that the responses were false because the ministry had indeed reviewed a plan to downsize the military investigation organization.

However, the court explained that it considered mitigating factors, noting that there was no legal obligation to respond to the parliamentary inquiry, and that the reorganization plan was ultimately discarded following internal reviews.

The court stated, "There was an instruction from superiors to scrap the reduction plan at the time, and given that the ministry had announced a stance denying the fact that it had been reviewed, it likely would not have been easy for the defendants to answer the lawmaker's inquiry truthfully."

It added, "It is also unclear whether a crime would have been established if the defendants had responded more cautiously, stating that 'no official review of the organizational reorganization plan had been conducted.'"

Yoo and the former official Lee were pointed to as figures involved in the investigation pressure surrounding Corporal Chae and were brought to trial on November 21 of last year.

The independent counsel team led by Special Prosecutor Lee Myung-hyun concluded that Yoo had falsely responded despite being aware of the situation—having received an instruction from Lim Ki-hoon, former presidential secretary for national defense, to slash the military police workforce by more than 50% following Corporal Chae's death, and having drafted a related review report.

According to the special counsel team's assessment, the reduction of the military investigation personnel was reviewed as a retaliatory measure after then-Marine Corps Investigation Group Commander Park Jung-hun defied orders from superiors and attempted to transfer individuals including former 1st Marine Division Commander Lim Sung-geun to the police as suspects.

(Photo: Yonhap News)